Stade Rennais making moves for Tiémoué Bakayoko — reports

There are just two weeks left in the transfer window, and one of the players still needing to figure out their future is Tiémoué Bakayoko. He has one year left on his current contract, and it’s been evident for some time now that his career lies well away from Stamford Bridge — his second half appearance in the recent Spurs friendly certainly didn’t change anyone’s mind.

But as we’ve seen repeatedly, it’s tougher than ever to offload players on big wages at big clubs, especially on anything other than temporary loan deals.

In Bakayoko’s case, AC Milan (especially), Napoli, and Juventus have shown interest, but none of them were considering anything other than a loan (which would necessitate an extension at Chelsea, which is unlikely to please anyone involved). Olympique Lyonnais were linked tenuously as well, but more recently, some credible interest has arrived from Rennes, who may be lining up the 26-year-old as (partial) replacement for Eduardo Camavinga, who’s still expected to leave this summer.

Reports over the weekend has been expecting a quick resolution to Bakayoko’s situation, and they might have to come true simply by default given how little time is left before the transfer deadline on August 31.